Lionel Messi sends Qatar’s Golden Boot winner Almoez Ali a thoughtful gift

What's the story?

In a classy gesture, Barcelona captain, Lionel Messi has acknowledged the achievements of Qatar’s Golden Boot winner Almoez Ali by sending him a heartfelt gift all the way from Spain.

In case you didn't know...

Almoez Ali, who plays for Al-Duhail, was born in Sudan but decided to play for the Qatar national team. The forward has also played for clubs like Eupen, LASK Linz and Cultural Leonesa.

The Sudanese-born star was the hero at the 2019 Asian Cup as he led his country, considered the underdogs in the competition, to win the Cup against all odds.

The 23-year-old forward also won the Golden Boot after he broke a 23-year-old Asian Cup goal-scoring record with nine goals in the tournament, one more than Ali Daei who also scored eight for Iran in 1996.

His performances have earned the praise of former Real Madrid and Manchester United boss, Jose Mourinho and has attracted interest from clubs like AC Milan.

9 - Almoez Ali has just broken the record for the most goals ever scored by a single player at an Asian Cup tournament (9), one more than Ali Daei who also scored eight for Iran in the 1996 edition. Overhead. #AsianCupFinal #AsianCup2019 pic.twitter.com/3dgjDdIYJy

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 1, 2019

The heart of the matter

According to a newspaper in Qatar called The Peninsula, Messi, who has broken several records himself, appears to have been impressed by the young forward and he has sent him a gift all the way from Barcelona.

The gift includes the iconic Barcelona jersey but with Almoez’s name and his number 19 printed on it. Messi had also signed the shirt before sending it off as a token of admiration to the 23-year-old.

A special gift for #AsianCup2019 top scorer @Moezali_, all the way from Barcelona - signed by none other than Leo Messi 🐐#Qatar pic.twitter.com/RB1Z2et7gB

— QFootLive (@QFootLive) February 6, 2019

The jersey was presented to Almoez by BEIN Sport presenter, Ayman Jada.

What's next?

Almoez, had recently stated (via The Peninsula) that he would like to take the next step of his career in Europe saying, "Of course, I look for European teams because in our league in Asia, not only in Qatar but in all of Asia, we know teams are weak and we see that at the World Cup. They do not go far. Always, they go out, " he was quoted in a Reuters report.

"I hope to go out [to Europe] to learn and to come back for the World Cup in Doha in 2022."

At the rate he's going, it would be no surprise to see the forward in one of Europe's top leagues soon.